January 2009 Naturalist Notes
A Long Good Night
As winters first frost comes in, animals either migrate to warmer climates or commence the long sleep- hibernation. It's common knowledge that hibernation is a time when animals sleep through cold weather; however, it’s a little less commonly known that their bodies enter into a state of metabolic depression, where their body temperature is lowered and their breathing and heart rate slows.
Hibernating animals begin preparing as early as mid summer. But it is especially during the fall that they eat large quantities of food and store it as body fat. This fat is called brown fat and is stored in areas close to the animals’ organs. It is this body fat that holds them over throughout the winter. Because these animals are less active, they don’t burn a lot of energy and so metabolize their food at an extremely low rate.
So who hibernates?… warm blooded animals? Cold blooded animals? The answer is both. Cold blooded animals do not maintain a constant body temperature but rather receive their warmth and energy from the environment. Examples of hibernating cold blooded animals are snakes, lizards, and bees. Examples of some warm blood animals that hibernate are nighthawks, skunks, bats, and bears.
Hibernating animals generally fall in either of two categories: true hibernators or super hibernators. In both categories the bodily processes are the same. True hibernators enter into a deep sleep where it’s nearly impossible to awake before the cycle has run its course. True hibernators such as wood chucks, bats, and squirrels are very vulnerable to predators during this time and so look for especially well hid dens and burrows.
Super hibernators do become dormant over the winter. But they differ from true hibernators in that it’s a state characterized more as laziness than a deep sleep. These animals have lower heart rates and body temperatures, are less active, sleep often but can be easily aroused and awaken periodically to forage. Unfortunately bears and skunks fall in this category, as well as, raccoons and opossums.
Humans of course, cannot hibernate and we no longer have a tendency towards migration to warmer climates. But who needs it … when we can just turn up the heat and put on a sweater!
~Deanna Wyatt
October Naturalist Notes
Photos Courtesy of Nick "Thommy" Thompson 2008.
Nothing fills my heart more than seeing the signs of fall! Autumn is such an amazing time in the forest; leaves are changing colors and starting to fall to the ground, the air turns crispy and some late bloomers appear. One plant in particular comes to mind. "Hearts a bustin'" appears in late September just as the leaves are about ready to turn shades of orange, red and yellow. This late comer is commonly known to folks as "Strawberry Bush", Bursting Heart, Hearts a bustin' or Brook Euonymous. Scientifically however, it is known as Euonymous americana. Shrubs grow near wet areas and enjoy partial to full shade. Strawberry Bush is a perennial plant that is drought tolerant and likes acidic soil. SB ranges from as far north as New York, on down the eastern seaboard to Florida. Plant enthusiasts can find it as far west as Texas, Missouri and Illinois.
With a name like "Strawberry Bush", one would think this lucious plant is edible however it is not. Long ago, Native Americans used the roots of this plant to treat stomach aches, painful urination and vomiting of blood. Some physicians once used the bark to make a tea as a laxative, diuretic and expectorant. Nowadays it is not advised to use this plant for medicinal purposes because if the seed is ingested it is POISONOUS!!! Other parts of the plant are poisonous as well. It's best to just admire this plant from afar and go on your merry way. Even though this widow maker aka "Hearts-a-bustin'" is inedible, I will still admire it each time I travel along the shore trail from the Pavilion to the Dining Hall.
